Review: Claiming The Evil Dead (The Soul Catcher series #1) by Mary Abshire

TLDR recap:

Jessie, thanks to her demon father, possesses an unusual ability. She makes an exception her no-supernaturals policy when Drake, an ancient vampire who knows her secret, approaches her with a job offer. Sparks fly while she and Drake hunt down an evil, child-murdering vampire. Then, Jessie meets a flirtatious demon who makes no secret of his desire to know her better. As if deciding between two utterly tempting males isn’t enough, vampire bounty hunters are out to kidnap her, too, and a little girl’s life is at stake. Will Jessie have to sacrifice her love to save the child and give the evil vampire exactly what he deserves? Hang on for the ride, because Claiming The Evil Dead is a GraveTells Recommended Read!

Title: Claiming The Evil Dead

Series: N/A

Author: Mary Abshire

Prominent Characters: Jessie, Drake, Jeremy, Alexander

Recommended reader age: 16+

Sexual content level: moderate to strong

*** This review is SPOILER-FREE! Read on with confidence! ***

Thoughts:

Claiming The Evil Dead is a roller coaster ride through suspense, action, and sexual tension! With well-developed characters, interesting conflicts, and skillful story-telling, Ms. Abshire draws the reader in from the beginning, and keeps them right there in her world until The End.

Told in first-person, from Jessie’s point-of-view, Claiming The Evil Dead piqued my attention right off with the incongruity of Jessie’s ability to send evil souls to hell, and her heritage as a half demon. Such a role is usually filled by someone playing for the other team, but it fits Jessie. She’s a wonderfully complicated heroine, in addition to being brave, and intelligent enough to admit being frightened. The reader agonizes with her as she makes painful choices, fully prepared to live with the consequences.

The sexual tension between Jessie and Drake is a bit less than sizzling, and at times, almost seems an afterthought. With several layers of conflict, both major and minor, the opportunities for sexual tension are, perhaps, fewer than if the plot were less complicated. When Jessie meets Jeremy, the hockey-playing demon, the words practically smoke, and a major conflict erupts.

The author uses a variety of action scenes to escalate the reader’s suspense. With bloody fights, foot and car chases, the story moves right along. Despite the different kinds of action, the scenes are all fast-paced, logical, and well written. The heart-pounding is balanced with moments of quiet, as Jessie determines her course of action, gets to know the new men in her life, and reflects on what’s really important in life.

Memorable quotes:

That’s telling him, Jessie!

After a lengthy hesitation, he finally took a step forward and then another.
“I have a message for you,” I said, hoping he’d come closer.
Mr. Stratton approached me with timid curiosity. “A message?” His forehead crinkled.
I held my breath while I maintained a phony smile. He stunk so badly, I wanted to puke. Over sixty years worth of decay does that to a ghost. They don’t appear decomposed; in fact, they look normal, but they stink worse than a city dump on a sweltering, humid day.
“Yes.” I said, waiting for him to step closer. The ghost took his damn time approaching me. “It’s from my father.”
He stopped within an arm’s reach from me. Eyes tight and narrowed, he held a look of pure confusion. “Your father?”
My grin disappeared. “He wants you to join him.” Reaching forward, I grabbed his forearm and yanked him closer to me. He didn’t have time to struggle. “In hell,” I finished.

Don’t you hate it when people eavesdrop?

“Get my luggage,” I spat at Drake and then faced Dani. “I’ll call you when I get there.”
She hugged me again. “If you don’t f*** him, I will,” she whispered in my ear.
A cough echoed from out in the hallway. Peachy. Drake’s vampire ears probably picked up Dani’s comment.

If you liked Claiming The Evil Dead…

If you liked Claiming The Evil Dead, you might also like Hunters And Prey by Katie Salidas.

Final Thoughts

As I neared the end of Claiming The Evil Dead, I found myself dreading to read the final page. I wanted the story to continue. It combines my favorite elements skillfully with an interesting plot: a romance with several levels of realistic conflict; bad guys trying to kill the hero and heroine; lots of fast-paced high-stakes action; and a level of intimacy between the couple beyond some hot sex scenes. I would happily recommend this complex, involving book to others. Claiming The Evil Dead is a GraveTells Recommended Read!

Kenra Daniels

I write steamy paranormal romance novels featuring weredragons and daywalking vampires. I live in rural eastern Kentucky with my husband of 25 years, our 5 dogs, 2 cats, and 2 snakes. We have one daughter, and three adorable little grandsons. The first novel in my BLOOD DRAGONS series is on submission with several publishers, and I'm working on the second one

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All reviews posted by GraveTells are our honest opinions. We do not receive payment or compensation for these reviews and, in some cases, use our own money to purchase the books for review. So read on with the confidence that what we say is really what we mean! =)